DIY Floral Tree for the Holidays

Last Updated: January 8, 2019

By
Erica Daniels

The winter holidays are fast approaching, and it’s time to start swapping out our turkeys and pumpkins with snowflakes and tinsel. Christmas is a time for hot chocolate, snow days and fabulous florals! Poinsettias may be the classic holiday houseplant, but there are lots of other beautiful flowers available at this time of year. Amaryllis and camellias are examples of flowers that bloom during the cold winter season. With this mind, why don’t you try using some other winter flowers in your holiday decor this year? You can incorporate flowers into a winter-themed fruit and floral arrangement, a festive flower wall or even a flower-filled Christmas tree!

Imagine how your holiday decor will stand out with lush winter blooms all around your tree and home. To help you get started, we’re showing you how to create and style a beautiful floral garland that you can use to spice up your traditional Christmas tree or use as a statement decor piece for your holiday party. Before we dive in, take a look at the materials you’ll need to create your floral tree.

Materials

Bind wire – Bind wire, which is used to tie the flowers together, works best with this project since it is pliable. You can also use floral wire as an alternative. Pick a wire in a natural brown or green color to blend in with your tree. You can find bird wire and floral wire at craft stores.

Vine-wrapped wire – Use this wire to layer the flowers on top of their own stems and create your garland. Also known as pliable twine or grapevine wire, this material can be found at craft stores.

Flowers – You’ll need plenty of pretty flowers to decorate your tree. Take a look at our section below to see our recommended flowers for this project.

Top Flowers for Your Floral Tree

The best flowers for this project are ones that do well out of water. To create a consistent look, you should stick to three to four flowers and colors throughout your tree. Pick up more flowers than you think you’ll need so you get the right tree design the first time you work on it.

Your flowers will likely last one or two days out of water, so it’s best to decorate your tree as close to your holiday festivities as possible. Here are our recommended flowers:

Carnation

Ranunculus

Lily

Rose

Chrysanthemum

Hydrangea

Orchid

Poinsettia

Statice

Astilbe

Celosia

Thistle

Pom

Queen Anne’s lace

Baby’s breath

Scabiosa

Pro Tip: Keep your flowers in water for at least 24 hours prior to decorating your tree to ensure they are hydrated. If you’re looking to add non-floral additions to your tree, you can use viburnum, hypericum or brunia berries.

DIY Floral Tree Instructions

Total project time: 1–2 hours

Step 1: Cut the length of your flower stems down to 3 to 4 inches.
Prepare your flowers by cutting down all of the stems. Cut off a little less than you think you’ll need so you can easily adjust the stem length later.

Step 2: Lay out your flowers and plan the garland design.
Spread your flowers out to see how you’d like to arrange them on your garland. You can bundle a few flowers together to create a fuller look or space the flowers apart for an airy and minimal style. Be sure to keep in mind the strength of your tree’s branches. Adding too many flowers can make your tree droop.

You should have a good idea of what you want your tree to look like before you start. An ombré tree with florals trailing vertically down will have a very different flower pattern from a monochromatic tree with flowers circling horizontally. If you need some inspiration, we’ve included styling tips to get you started.

Step 3: Secure the flowers together with wire. Repeat this until you reach your desired length.
Layer your flowers or bundles on top of the flower stems and secure them by tying them together. After that, tie your first bundle or bloom to the wire and then layer the following flowers on top of the flower stems.

Loosely drape a finished section of your garland against your tree to see how it looks. Check your progress periodically to make sure you’re not making the garland too heavy for your tree’s branches.

Step 4: Attach the garland to your tree.
Now it’s time to see the product of your hard work! Start by laying your garland on top of the tree’s branches and slowly work your way down the tree. Use wire to secure loose parts of your garland.

Pro tip: If your garland isn’t looking as full as you thought it would, stick extra flowers into the garland or directly into your tree! This is also a great way to use leftover flowers.

Bonus DIY: Marbled Ornaments

To make your floral tree extra special, create a few DIY marbled ornaments. Check out the steps below to add modern glam to your decor.

There you have it! A beautiful floral tree that will wow your guests. Lightly mist the blooms from time to time to keep them fresh. Be careful not to overwater them, as anything more than a light mist can drown your flowers and turn them brown. After a day or two the flowers will dry out, but you can leave them on if you’d like to go for a fun rustic or boho look. Dried flowers have their own unique look that can enhance holiday decor.

Now that you have the steps down, it’s time to make this tree your own! You can drape your garland in different ways and mix and match flowers to achieve new looks. Take a look at the different ways we style our mini trees to see what you can do with your own.

Now you have a beautiful DIY floral tree that’s sure to elevate your next holiday event. If you have extra flowers you’d like to use for another DIY decor project, you should take a look at our flower chandelier post to see how you can wow your guests with even more expertly designed florals! If you have some extra time in between all of this DIYing, you should also take a minute to check out our guide to Christmas tree care so you can keep your tree fresh and happy all month long.